The specific energy and cycle life of rechargeable non-aqueous Na-based batteries are influenced by the type of electrolyte used. Here the authors propose a sulfonyl imide-rich electrolyte solution to improve the energy content and life span of various Na-based batteries.

Here the authors present photo-nanopores in which α-haemolysin monomers are modified with arylazopyrazoles, allowing quantitative photoswitching of the transmembrane ionic current, analogous to electronic diodes and light-tunable resistors in response to light.

In ultrathin BiFeO₃ films on LaAlO₃, compressive strain of the substrate induces a polar skyrmion lattice with nanometre periodicity.

Remote epitaxial growth of continuous crystalline perovskite thin films is demonstrated. These films can be seamlessly integrated into micro-LEDs with an ultrahigh resolution of 4 μm pixel size.

An optical method images nonlinear optical processes in waveguides with femtosecond and nanometre precision. The approach is used to achieve phase-matched second-harmonic generation in 3R-MoS₂ waveguides.

An anomalous Hall spin current in a ferromagnetic conductor generates a giant spin–orbit torque with unique angular symmetry. This discovery enables a spin torque nano-oscillator with potential applications in neuromorphic signal processing.

Sliding ferroelectricity with finite conductance can yield ferroelectric hysteresis with concomitant Coulomb screening in monolayer graphene containing van der Waals heterostructures of various compositions.

Here the authors present cyclic peptide-based AND-gated nanosensors to detect concomitant protease activity. These nanosensors improve detection specificity during immune checkpoint blockade therapy compared with off-tumour anti-viral immunity in a mouse model.

Cancer vaccine is a powerful cancer immunotherapy strategy. Here autophagosomes coated with nanodots in situ in tumours serve as personalized cancer vaccines, effectively activating anti-cancer immune responses in vivo.

Owing to its very low magnetization, small currents suffice to write a ferrimagnetic Heusler memory layer in complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor-compatible magnetic tunnel via spin-transfer torque, which can help in shrinking the memory cell and extending the application space for magnetic random-access memory.

An optical-tweezer-based nanorheometer is developed to quantify the viscoelasticity of biomolecular condensates and intracellular compartments in vivo during aging and mutations that cause nuclear envelopathies in a Caenorhabditis elegans model.

A liquid flow can cross a solid wall, at odds with classical hydrodynamics, thanks to couplings between the liquid’s fluctuations and the electronic excitations of the solid inducing a momentum tunnelling.

In conical nanopores, the transient current generated by disturbing the ionic flux equilibrium is slow to respond to changes in the ionic state due to Warburg-like impedance, producing ‘ionic filters’ and negative capacitance with memory.

A metal–semiconductor structure as small as 170 nm in diameter emits lasing light from the lowest-order plasmonic mode across a broad spectral range in the infrared.

Kinetically pumped avalanche multiplication has been demonstrated in a colloidal quantum dot photodetector, achieving an 85-fold multiplication gain. This proposes new opportunities for developing colloidal quantum dot single-photon detectors.

In a Mn₃Sn/W epitaxial bilayer, spin–orbit torque induces the coherent rotation of spins, which can couple to microwave currents. Unlike in ferromagnets, the resulting conversion of AC current to DC voltage remains robust at higher frequencies, which may facilitate the development of high-speed electronic devices.

This new β-Li₃N solid-state electrolyte demonstrates a vacancy-mediated superionic diffusion mechanism, achieving high ionic conductivity (2.14 × 10⁻³ S cm⁻¹) and effectively suppressing lithium dendrite growth. Its high compatibility with lithium and air stability promises improved safety and performance in all-solid-state lithium metal batteries, making it ideal for advanced energy storage applications.

Atomically intimate assembly of FeO_x-Rh-ZrO₂ dual interfaces by selectively architecting highly dispersed FeO_x on ultrafine raft-like Rh clusters supported on tetragonal zirconia enables highly efficient tandem conversion of syngas to ethanol.

Here, the authors present the design, molecular assembly and mechanistic insights into an organic, biomarker-activatable radiotheranostic nanoprobe for image-guided precision cancer radiotherapy with sensitivity up to a depth of 15 cm in thick tissues.

By using scanning tunnelling microscopy and spectroscopy, researchers observe layer-dependent electronic correlations in rhombohedral graphene multilayers at 77 K, revealing the layer-enhanced low-energy flat bands and interlayer interactions.